BEIRUT: Teachers and public sector employees said Tuesday they would go on strike for two days in January and are considering a three-day strike next month to protest the government’s procrastination over referring a salary raise to Parliament . The Union Coordination Committee, a coalition of public sector employees and teachers at public and private schools, called for a general strike on Jan. 16 and another strike on Jan. 23, as well as demonstrations near government buildings across Lebanon. Protesters will gather near the Information Ministry in Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood and march to the Grand Serail. UCC initiated several strikes last year over the same demand. The government approved the salary raise last September, but says it is trying to secure means to finance its cost before referring it to Parliament. However, teachers and public sector employees suspect that the government does not want to refer the pay hike to Parliament at all. UCC called on its bodies to discuss a recommendation to hold a general strike on Feb. 5, 6 and 7 as a prelude to an open-ended strike to pressure the Cabinet into meeting its demands.